A Moment in Time
by Natsuki
Summary: A short omake about normal life for Nagoya Natsuki, her relationship with Minazuki Shinji and Toki. Manga universe, spoilers for the last chapter.


Disclaimer: I don't own Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne -- it's Tanemura Arina's  
property, and I certainly don't want to infringe on that.  
  
***  
  
Thankfully, Shinji wasn't in the school that day to shadow her every move;  
he had been kept home as a result of a persistent hacking cough that, no  
matter what he was given, would not disappear. As Natsuki stepped into her  
shoes, setting her school slippers back into their spot in her small  
locker, she glanced up, automatically expecting an arm draped over her  
shoulders and a low, cheerful voice in her ear -- just to annoy her, of  
course. An unconscious sigh escaped her lips as no such thing appeared; it  
was a break in the comfortable routine of school and home, parents and  
friends.  
  
With a final stomp of one foot to get the heel properly tamped down,  
Natsuki padded off towards the door and into the heat of the summer  
afternoon. There was no breeze to lift the muggy taint of the air and to  
ruffle the leaves of the trees.  
  
"Natsuki-san!" That was a tenor voice, well-known to her.  
  
"Toki-kun," she said as he ran up to her, panting tiredly. "You shouldn't  
run in this heat..."  
  
As though this had been a wonderful compliment, Toki lit up. "Well, if it's  
to see you, I'll run quite a ways. Now. I was wondering if you'd like to  
study with me for the exams coming up; I've got good history notes, if  
you're interested."  
  
"I suppose I am, at that. It would be nice to study with you for a while.  
Will you come over to my house?" She didn't particularly want to be cooed  
over by Toki's mother, nor treated with incredibly deference by his father.  
They were kind people, indeed, but...  
  
... she'd grown up with a more relaxed family.  
  
***  
  
They had just finished their studies when Chiaki came over to the table,  
resting his hands upon the back of Natsuki's chair. "Toki-kun, I haven't  
had a chance to chat with you. I understand you're two years older than  
Natsuki."  
  
Toki paused in putting his books in his bag and nodded. Natsuki folded up  
her papers, filing them neatly away in her binders. "I'm also two years  
younger than Minazuki-kun; he's almost graduated from high school now."  
  
"Ah." That simple word made Natsuki stiffen slightly. Chiaki pulled a chair  
  
out from beside her and sat down, his smile still firmly in place. "You are  
  
popular with the girls, then?"  
  
Natsuki looked sharply at her father. What was he doing, asking such a  
personal question of poor Toki?  
  
Toki set the final textbook in his bag, his expression mixed between shock  
and embarrassment. "Mother would be able to say better than I; she seems to  
  
delight in matchmaking for me, after all," he said, straightening up in his  
  
chair and, from what Natsuki could see, trying very hard to conceal the  
flush on his cheeks.  
  
"I see. And does Yashiro know that you don't particularly need her help in  
matchmaking? The poor girls must be drowning you in Valentines' chocolates,  
  
if they're the same as they were when I was in high school."  
  
Natsuki, her cheeks bright red, kicked her father under the table.  
  
Toki stiffened, embarrassment vivid in his eyes. "No, sir. I don't enjoy  
telling girls that I don't care for their chocolates, but I do it all the  
same."  
  
"A noble ambition. Natsuki, it's not necessary to keep on kicking me. You  
understand, Toki-kun, that Natsuki is very dear to us and to me, and also  
to Shinji." Chiaki's voice was light and friendly, but his eyes were cool.  
"I would hate to have his, ah, pursuit interrupted. I know that I hated  
such things myself."  
  
Natsuki was varying between complete fury and utter mortification; for one  
thing, who would care if Shinji's constant bothering stopped, and for  
another, it wasn't her father's place to interfere. "Papa," she growled, "I  
  
want to speak to you. Privately. May I?"  
  
"No. And stomping on my foot won't work, either. Your mother's aptitude  
with gymnastics equipment as weapons has had a certain effect on my pain  
tolerance. Do I make myself clear, Toki-kun?"  
  
***  
  
A volley of sneezes interrupted the coughing fit, much to Minazuki Shinji's  
relief; they were easier on the throat and chest than the constant hacking.  
  
Though it did, of course, mean that someone was talking about him. He  
grumbled under his breath, sitting up cautiously and taking a peek outside  
his door -- it would be far more painful to deal with an angry mother  
(especially, all things considered, his own mother) than his body's  
protesting of the motion.  
  
Access had had plenty of experience sneaking around, bent on trouble; this  
facility had been passed on to Shinji. He snuck out the door while his  
mother was occupied with preparing soup and went across the hall to what  
half of him remembered as simply Chiaki's apartment and the other half knew  
to be both Chiaki's and Maron's.  
  
Either way, it was easy enough to get into the apartment.  
  
Barefoot and tousle-headed as he was, he certainly wasn't expecting to see  
the perfectly-groomed Toki sitting at the table in the main room, nor  
Natsuki blushing madly and glaring daggers at Chiaki, who was happily  
looming over the pair of them.  
  
"This-" Shinji rasped, drawing their attention to him as he went into  
another fit of coughing, "-wasn't what I expected."  
  
"Idiot." Chiaki rolled his eyes at the teenager, then pointed to a plushy  
chair by Natsuki. "I should've tied you down in your bed."  
  
Even Natsuki looked concerned as she gnawed self-consciously upon the end  
of her pencil. Shinji offered her a bright smile, and she turned even  
redder. "You should've listened to Papa, Shinji. Now you're going to be  
even worse, and you've got the University exams coming up this year. And  
you'll worry everyone with this cough of yours," she said firmly.  
  
Allowing Chiaki to examine him a bit, Shinji grinned at her. "You mean that  
you worry about me, Natsuki-/chan/?"  
  
"Idiot!"  
  
"I'll just be going now. Mother is probably worrying about me." Toki  
hastily gathered up his books and paper, dumping it in his satchel with  
uncharacteristic messiness. Shinji smirked happily, then stuck out his  
tongue as ordered. It would just be up to Toki to interpret that however he  
wished.  
  
***  
  
This was originally just a short that I wrote as a bit of a side story to  
Arcadia to show Chiaki as a father. The original bit is the middle POV, and  
is inspired by Tamora Pierce's 'The Immortals' series. To be specific,  
inspired by Daine.  
  
  



End file.
